Peripheral Artery Disease Causes More Harm to Patients than COVID-19.

Background: To optimize our strategic planning, we aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) at our tertiary care hospital. Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center cohort study. In total, 1210 patients were included: 611 patients admitted between March and December 2020, compared to retrospective data from 599 patients from the same period in 2019.

Pilot study: volatile organic compounds as a diagnostic marker for head and neck tumors.

Background: In the last decade, the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOC) has undergone a rapid development. In this pilot study, patients with HNSCC were tested with a proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry in order to establish a minimal invasive screening method.

Methods: Overall in a period of 2 years, 22 carcinoma patients were recruited for the study.

Urinary acetonitrile concentrations correlate with recent smoking behaviour.

Objectives: To assess the concentration of acetonitrile (a saturated aliphatic nitrile) in the urine of habitual cigarette smokers and non-smokers, as exposure to smoke can be measured by monitoring ambient air or by in vivo tests, but acetonitrile measured in exhaled breath is reportedly a quantitative marker of recent smoking behaviour.

Subjects And Methods: The study included 101 volunteers (57 men and 44 women, mean age 49 years). An absence of urinary tract infection on urine analysis or clinical history was mandatory.